A Platform for Reading

Pictures Instead of Words

Shipping a Great Idea

PC Pro vs. Console loyal

Whether it’s a hobby, a temporary fix for boredom, or a vital part of everyday life, second only to breathing, the gaming world is intense; the competition is heated, and everyone’s ready for retaliation. The rival mediums each have their loyal army of gamer monogamists. For the console gamers, this includes being prepared on the eves of release dates of new systems, or anticipated games, equipped with tents, lawn chairs, cheetos, and wallets. For the PC gamers, this includes sleep deprivation, long-term damage of the retinas, and also cheetos. These brands seem to rely primarily on user loyalty, over anything else.

There are different types of gamers, whose loyalty will vary depending on their type. After some light research I’ve discovered I’m a retrogamer, my group is nostalgic, we long for 2D animation and enjoy playing early era games, we’re too cool for Pong but too old school for Halo 3. Our DVD collection may consist of box sets of early 90′s TV sitcoms, and our ruling console is Nintendo¦ Yes, as in, just Nintendo. They released some of the most critical and classic games, there’s Mario, Zelda, Metroid, who could forget Duck Hunt, and the list goes on. A few other types are import gamers , power gamers, cyberathletes, and casual or hardcore gamers. The two leading types that all others are mere subcategories of, are the console gamers, and the PC gamers.

So what will it be, the keyboard or the controller? Is there even competition between the two platforms? They’re not entirely incomparable worlds, many of the same games get released on both, but the audiences still differ greatly. When it comes to gaining audience, it’s not about the lowest price or the flashiest gimmicks; it’s simply about the best games. With some games released to both, Call of Duty 4 for example, the PC version differs in that it features more enemies, shorter mission times, and no aim assistance, contrary to the console version, which had auto-aim to aid the player. It might be kind of like when they turn a book into a movie. Console games being the movie version, are flashier, more direct, shorter, easier to understand, and more focused on entertainment than their counterpart. The PC version would be the book, it’s a little cruder and lengthier, brainier, and at times, can be pretty difficult. Neither one really excludes the other, but the movies (or console games) might be more popular among the general masses.

Accessibility might be another deciding factor. We’re not all tech whizzes, especially those of us still climbing through pipes in Mario World 2, so to some the thought of assembling computers and tampering with settings in alien file codes is like trying to decode ancient scripture, whereas nearly no technical knowledge is needed to use and maintain the consoles. This is why one of the main downsides of consoles doesn’t affect us as much, that being that we cannot change or upgrade the system’s core hardware. The only way to catch up with the times is to invest in the latest console.

The PC’s hardware on the other hand, can be flexible, a pro upgrader can transform mediocre to megamachine with high quality graphics and personally customized features. For the PC gamers, complexity may be part of the attraction. From the mind of a retrogamer, I prefer the plug in and play approach, extra retro style.